ANDREA PIRLO was compared to a cult Christmas movie hero after being wildly shaken by his OWN player after Sampdoria’s win over Lecce.
The Genoa-based outfit won the fixture 2-0 thanks to a brace from forward Sebastiano Esposito.
Esposito, on loan from Inter Milan, was the difference as Sampdoria earned their fourth win in five Serie B matches.
Pirlo, 44, subbed off the match-winner in injury time as I Blucerchiati held on to the win.
At full-time, the forward and his manager embraced each other on the touchline.
However, Esposito may have taken his celebration too far as he shook Pirlo wildly.
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Fans flocked to social media to comment on the intense celebrations.
One fan even compared the moment to Alan Rickman’s character Hans Gruber’s death scene in the 1988 Christmas film Die Hard.
They joked: “He looks like Alan Rickman in Die Hard when he falls through the window.”
A second commented: “Pirlo being shaken like a rag doll.”
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A third wrote: “Bro is very brave to do that to Andrea Pirlo.”
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A fourth posted: “That came as a shock to Pirlo.”
A fifth said: “I thought Pirlo was getting jumped.”
Another added: “Almost shook the life outa him…”
The win sees Sampdoria climb up to 10th in Italy’s second division and also relieve pressure on Pirlo.
The club were relegated from Serie A for the first time in over a decade last season.
Pirlo was named as manager following the relegation with the aim of getting the club back into the top flight.
Since retiring from playing, the Italian has managed the likes of Juventus and Turkish outfit Fatih Karagümrük S.K.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
